The Enfield Case Reopened 40 Years On

This month one of the world's most famous real-life ghost stories turns 40 and to celebrate I've been digging through the Enfield poltergeist case files and re-examining the best documented poltergeist haunting of all time.

As part of my research into the history of the Enfield case I read the book written by one of the lead investigators of the case cover to cover. Guy Lyon Playfair's 1980 book 'This House Is Haunted' is a summary of the haunting from start to finish. I'm not the first person to say that the book is a must-read for anyone interested in the paranormal and it really is. To my knowledge there's no other book which contains the same detailed account of a haunting.

As well as Guy's book, I also re-read the chapter of Gerald Brittle's book 'The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career Of Ed And Lorraine Warren' which is concerned the Enfield case. However, apart from confirming that Ed and Lorraine visited the house and thought the haunting was the work of a demon, it added very little to the story.

I also watched hours of video of old television clips, and interviews with the family and witnesses of events in the house. The interviews date back to the month of the first outbreak, through to more recent interviews with those affected, some as recent as 2016. Janet and Margaret, the sisters who were at the centre of the case maintain their story to this day that their house on Green Street really was haunted.

As a skeptic, Guy's book was an interesting read. There are several direct mentions of the fact that neither the author himself or the family made any money out of the case or the press attention surrounding it, perhaps this is just mentioned as it's a common criticism but it almost reads like he's protesting too much.

Overall the book was a good read but it did come across as being written in quite a defensive tone which took away some of the enjoyment of the read.

The author uses phrases like "almost impossible" several times, he says things along the lines of "it would have been almost impossible for the girls to open the window", "I tried and I could barely move it", and "it would have been really difficult for the girls to fake something like that". But "almost impossible" isn't impossible, "barley moveable" means it can be moved, and "really difficult" doesn't mean it can't be done.

In one chapter of the book Guy describes an incident where the words "I am Fred" were found written on the back of the bathroom door, it was made from strips of insulating tape that belonged to one of the paranormal researchers. Guy and his fellow investigator, Maurice Grosse, conclude that this couldn't have been faked by the girls as the writing was made up of twenty individual pieces of tape and would have taken them too long fake.

In writing my article on Enfield I wanted to recreate the famous photo (my version is above), partly to avoid image copyright issues and partly because I wanted my piece on the haunting to have some slightly different images as a point of difference to other articles and blog posts on the topic. I can say that it didn't take me long at all to cut up and stick the words on the back of my door. I could have certainly done it during a normal bathroom break without raising suspicion. What's more I was copying the look of the original text which means it may have actually even taken me a little longer than it could have.

Nothing documented in the book sounds impossible to fake to me. From the accounts levitation to the demons voice being spoken through the girls, it could all be achieved by the girls themselves. The fact that in most cases the poltergeist told the researchers that it didn't want them in the room and wouldn't perform until the door was closed or their back was turned is very suspicious. Of all the events that occurred in the house, very few were actually seen by an observer, most took place behind closed doors or in another room.

The exception to this being a chair that the first police officer to visit the house saw move across the floor, and an event witnessed by two members of the public who saw Janet levitating through the upstairs bedroom window.

In the case of the levitation, this could have easily been Janet bouncing on her bed. The lollypop lady who witnessed it said she saw Janet go up and down about six times, her arms and legs were going all over the place. Personally I'm sure that's what it would look like if someone were bouncing on their bed and pushing themselves up off of their back.

As for the chair that the WPC saw moving, that I can't explain. She's a good credible witness and her testimony doesn't suggest any obvious fakery, but what's odd is that no one else in the house that night saw the chair move.

I wanted to put something a little different together for the 40th anniversary, so I decided to compile a timeline of events in the house as I haven't seen this anywhere else. I trolled through 'This House Is Haunted', cross referenced the accounts with dates and times mentioned in interviews, summaries of papers released by the Society for Psychical Research, and Ed and Lorraine version of events.

I think this has given me the opportunity to put together a really unique bit of content and the most detailed and accurate timeline of events at 284 Green Street. You can read my complete, finished piece below...

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the Enfield Poltergeist case, which centred on the Hodgson family of Enfield. To celebrate, here's a list of every milestone, major event and significant visit to the house. The timeline covers the house's most active period from August 1977 to October 1978.

I've been fascinated by the Enfield poltergeist case for as long as I can remember, especially because it inspired not only 'Ghostwatch', one of my favourite TV moments of all time, but also the 80s classic 'Ghostbusters' which was a massive part of my childhood.

Few know that Dan Aykroyd picked up Gozer, the name of the Ghostbusters' nemesis from the Enfield case. The story has also influenced TV shows and had a Hollywood movie made about it.

As part of my research into the case, I wrote a piece about the cultural impact of Enfield over the last 40 years...

The classic paranormal comedy movie 'Ghostbuster' introduced us to an array of spirits and demons including Gozer the Gozerian but it turns out that the demon deity first made its presence known at a haunted house in Enfield in the 1970s.

I called in the help of a friend and regular contributor to my website to help retell the story of Enfield and do it justice. Gareth looked at the famous poltergeist case from a slightly different angle to me, analysing the context of the haunting and attitudes towards the paranormal in 1977. He also asked whether any films, book or television shows of the time could have influenced the case.

Whether you believe the Enfield Poltergeist was evidence of a real haunting or not, there's no doubt that the story had an enormous impact at the time. After all, the media relies on public interest to sustain a story. The Enfield Poltergeist was widely covered in newspapers, books, radio and TV at the time and continues to fascinate. So how could this seemingly simple haunting have had such a large impact over such a timespan?

This 40th anniversary project has been one of the biggest pieces of research I've embarked on. I've learnt a hell of a lot about the paranormal events which took place in late-70s London. In fact there were six facts I stumbled across which were completely new to me and don't seem to be too widely publicised.

The Enfield Poltergeist case is one of the best documented case of a haunting ever, but while researching the topic ahead of the 40th anniversary of the event I uncovered six interesting facts that aren't widely know about the events that took place in Enfield, North London in 1977.

If you've been following my journey through the Enfield case files, then you too may feel like you've learnt a fair amount about the case, so to finish off this week of Enfield remembrance, I'm giving you the chance to test your knowledge with a quiz on the history of the hauntings in Enfield.

40 years ago this month, the Hodgson family of Enfield in north London reported strange goings on in their house at 284 Green Street, it became one of the most famous poltergeist cases ever, but 40 years on, how much do you remember about this iconic case?

And if you still want more Enfield, then I highly recommend the Parapod episode where Barry Dodds who is a strong believer in the paranormal tries to convince his skeptical friend and co-host Ian Boldsworth (or Ray Peacock as he was known back in 2015 when the podcast was recorded) that the case was a real example of paranormal activity.

In this week's The Parapod, firm believer Barry Dodds and hardcore skeptic Ray Peacock debate one of the world's most famous hauntings. Barry tries to convince Ray that the paranormal activity which took place in a North London council house in the late-70s was real a real poltergeist case and not just the overactive imaginations of two teenaged girls that got out of hand.

This House is Haunted: The True Story of the Enfield Poltergeist

£12.26

Guy Lyon Playfair's book is a must for any paranormal researcher as he reveals what really went on at 284 Green Street in 1977 and 1978.

No other case of its kind has been so well witnessed from start to finish or so thoroughly documented and this book contains every detail of that investigation. Incidents are described as they happened, without embellishment, from some six hundred pages of transcripts of live tape recordings.

The story of the Enfield poltergeist is already regarded as a classic in the annals of psychical research.

I'm Steve a digital content producer with 20 years experience creating videos, podcasts and website features for some of the biggest media brands in the UK. I'm now responsible for my own online catalogue of quirky creations.

I'm probably best known for my YouTube channel, HiggypopUK where I make weekly potion videos which confuse, excite and entertain.